1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopaedic drivers, and, more particularly, to angled orthopaedic drivers.
2. Description of the Related Art
When performing orthopaedic procedures, orthopaedic drivers are often used to connect a driven instrument, such as a reamer head, to a power drill or other rotating element in order to rotate the instrument. Typical orthopaedic drivers include a shank that couples with the rotating element and a drive shaft to transmit rotation from the shank to a driving end that connects to the driven instrument. This arrangement allows the drill to be held outside the body while the driven instrument is used.
As orthopaedic surgical techniques have evolved, angled orthopaedic drivers have become more popular. In an angled orthopaedic driver, the drive shaft defines an axis and the connected instrument is held at an angle relative to the axis. Such a configuration can allow for the orthopaedic surgery to be performed through a smaller incision. Examples of such devices are known from, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,480,674 to Rogers et al. which teaches an orthopaedic driver utilizing Cardan joints including U-joints and H-joints to drive an instrument. As taught by Rogers et al., the beveled relationship between a proximal U-joint and an H-joint of the drivetrain enables articulation of the H-joint through a range of angles, which allows the angle of the connected instrument to be altered. One problem with this construction is that the beveling of the U-joint and H-joint controls the angling of the connected instrument. Since the U-joint and H-joint of the drivetrain are not components that can be easily swapped out between or during surgeries, the angling of the driven instrument relative to the drivetrain is not easily adjustable. During surgery, a surgeon may discover that the originally chosen angling of the driven instrument is not the desired angle for the procedure. Since the angling of the driven instrument relative to the drivetrain is not easily adjustable, due to the U-joint and H-joint beveling controlling the angling, a surgeon may use an undesired angling during the procedure or will have to obtain a different orthopaedic driver that has been pre-configured with a different angling.
What is needed in the art is an orthopaedic driver that is more easily adjustable than known orthopaedic drivers.